Urine Monitoring Systems and Methods
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A fluid monitoring system, comprising:
- a container for collecting a fluid; and
a capacitance sensor attached to the container and configured to act as a capacitor to sense a physical property of the fluid as it collects in the container.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Fluid/urine monitoring devices and/or systems are provided for monitoring fluid output, including volume and flow rate. One high resolution, low cost electronic urine monitoring device and system collects urine and includes a capacitance sensor. The capacitance of the capacitance sensor may be correlated with fluid content and be used to identify urine volume and flow rate. Another high resolution, low cost flow meter is placed in line with drainage tubing and uses a capacitance sensor to measure fluid output without collecting the fluid. Other low cost urine monitoring devices use pressure based or weight based measurement sensors to measure volume and flow rate.
-
Citations
24 Claims
-
1. A fluid monitoring system, comprising:
-
a container for collecting a fluid; and a capacitance sensor attached to the container and configured to act as a capacitor to sense a physical property of the fluid as it collects in the container. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A method of measuring fluid volume, comprising:
-
providing a urine monitoring device, comprising; a container for collecting a fluid, a capacitance sensor attached to the container and configured to act as a capacitor to sense a physical property of the fluid, and a microcontroller programmed to use data from the capacitance sensor to calculate a volume of the fluid as it collects in the container, calculating a volume of the fluid as it collects in the container based on data from the capacitance sensor. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. A flow meter, comprising:
-
a housing including a fluid passage therethrough; and a capacitance sensor inside the housing configured to act as a capacitor to sense a physical property of the fluid as it passes through the fluid passage. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
-
23. A urine monitoring system, comprising:
-
a container for collecting urine, a printed electronic resistive sensor attached to an internal surface of the container and configured to measure a physical property of the urine as it collects in the container, and a microcontroller programmed to calculate a volume of the urine as it collects in the container based on data received from the printed electronic resistive sensor.
-
-
24. A urine monitoring system, comprising:
-
a container for collecting urine, a force-sensing resistor configured to provide a measurement value indicative of volume of the urine as it collects in the container, a support and measurement assembly from which the container hangs, the support and measurement assembly including a contact object disposed directly above and in contact with the force-sensing resistor; a microcontroller programmed to calculate a volume of the urine as it collects in the container based on the measurement value from the force-sensing resistor.
-
Specification